Hi guys, I’m currently working as a Credit Risk Analyst at a bulge bracket bank in London. The FRM is something that has caught my eye, however I do not have any plans to sit for the exam just yet. Maybe in 2-3 years… What I wanted to do however is study the Credit Risk Management section from FRM part 2. I just want to do this for my own knowledge and to understand my field better. I know this is quite unusual so I had a few questions about this… - Is it possible to dive straight into an FRM 2 topic (like Credit Risk) with only knowing the basics of finance? Or does the Credit Risk bit assume you have a lot of knowledge (which the ordinary candidate would have gained studying for Level 1)? - Is it actually possibly to buy FRM books second hand? I don’t want to spend so much just for one book. - Does this sound like a good idea at all? Or am I being silly? If not the FRM book, are there any other books you would recommend so that I can enhance my knowledge of Credit Risk Management? Any responses would be much appreciated, thanks very much in advance! Once again, at this stage I’m really looking to bolster my own knowledge.
It depends how basic is your knowledge in finance. If you work at a BB investment bank I would assume that you atleast have the finance knowledge equivalent to CFA level 1. I took FRM part 1 in May and except for some general knowledge in fiance and risk management, I have yet not found much correlation between the material between part 1 and 2. So I would say, yes you can jump straight away to the credit risk management book of FRM part 2, assuming you have the equivalent finance knowledge of CFA level 1 or FRM part 1. If that is not the case then I recommend you to strengthen your foundation.
On a different note, I do not understand what is stoping you from taking the FRM exams. They are not as time consuming as the CFA exams and both parts are offered twice a year. The volume of the material is about half each level of the CFA exam.
I also noticed that in another post you were asking to buy FRM part 1 books. If you are interested in credit risk management, FRM part 1 doesn’t cover much except maybe for some theory on this topic.
Finally, do you happen to be persian by anychance?
Hey thanks for the reply. I’m actually going to be sitting my CFA 1 exam in December or June. I do have quite a bit of finance knowledge but it’s a bit rough. I think getting to terms with the CFA 1 curriculum will help me greatly.
Currently I have just been working at a bank for less than a year (graduated from uni in july '12, started work in sep '12). I don’t think FRM is right for me just now as it is too mathematical and technical. I (very stupidly) dropped Maths after the 10th grade so my Maths is quite weak.
Regarding me offering to buy the books for FRM, that was just me trying to take advantage of a good offer! The only other way to get them are to sign up for the exam and buy the books (will cost $1000 instead of $150).
And finally, I am not persian. I am Indian. However I am a Zoroastrian or Parsi, so my name is a Persian name… AND last but not least, any idea where I can buy the FRM Credit Risk Management book from? 
I know this is a part II book. THanks a lot